Roy “Wrong Way” Riegels

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In the 1929 Rose Bowl, the California Golden Bears faced the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. During the second quarter, Georgia Tech’s Jack “Stumpy” Thomason fumbled the ball on his own 30-yard line. Riegels, who played for the Golden Bears, picked up the fumble and ran 65 yards toward his own end zone -- and became a favorite among fatal screwups. Chased the whole way by his teammate Benny Lom, Riegels thought Lom was a greedy bugger and yelled at him: “Get away from me! This is my touchdown!” Although Lom finally stopped “Wrong Way” Riegels at the 3-yard line, where he was then hit by numerous Tech players and pushed back to the 1-yard line, California eventually had to punt from their end zone. The punt was blocked for a safety, which gave Georgia Tech two points in a tight game that ended 8-7 for Tech.